Dollar Bills

Did New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announce plans for a $1 walking fee or walking tax on people moving around on foot in New York City? No, that's not true: Viral videos that claimed existing congestion tax cameras would be used for facial recognition of pedestrians in order to charge them a walking tax were not based on any actual…

Did President Joe Biden announce in a White House briefing that the Los Angeles fire survivors would receive a one-time payment of $770 as their only form of government assistance? No, that's not true: FEMA reviews each disaster assistance application individually to determine how much victims are eligible to receive and said some will even receive multiple checks of varying…

Did a Facebook post prove Elon Musk and Taylor Swift jointly endorsed a power-saving device called "Stop Watt"? No, that's not true: There is no record of either Musk or Swift publicly endorsing this product. Photos used in social media posts that reported the supposed endorsement were found to have likely been AI-generated. These posts included a link to a…

Does a video show vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz dancing in a cowboy hat and revealing two-piece outfit? No, that's not true: The original video features another person. The face in the video was altered to look like Walz. The claim was implied in a post (archived here) published on X on September 4, 2024. The post…

Does a video show Tim Walz, Kamala Harris' pick as her vice presidential running mate, dancing in a cowboy hat and with dollar bills stuck in his pants? No, that's not true: The video has been altered to add Walz's face onto the person dancing. The original video is of musician Alejandro Casas, who is known as El Divo 956,…

Is the U.S. government providing $5,000 to each illegal migrant and to all Americans? No, neither element of the claim is true: An immigration policy think tank contacted by Lead Stories said these claims are a "false rumor" that has been circulating since December 2023. Immigrants who enter the country illegally generally are not eligible for most federal benefits or…

Did President Joe Biden sponsor a new "health credits" subsidy program in Arizona? No, that's not true: The claim that the government is freely giving out health credits is a scam. Such scams are usually attached to an ad asking whether a person needs federal assistance or insurance. Biden, who purportedly backed the program, did not post such an endorsement.…

Did German-born rocket engineer Wernher von Braun found the National Aeronautics and Space Administration? No, that's not true: The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 29, 1958, led to the formation of NASA. It was not the work of a single person or of von Braun, who did not work for…

Did Donald Trump endorse a "$6,400 bonus" scheme before Christmas 2023? No, that's not true: Lead Stories could not find any evidence that the former president ever made any of the comments in a video making the claim, and it appears to be an AI-generated voice making the statements. There is no such federal program at the time of writing.…

Did former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama appear in a video promotion for a federal program giving out monthly $5,600 health spending cards to spend on bills, gas, groceries or "anything else you can think of"? No, that's not true: A video of Michelle Obama taken from a BBC interview has been altered with a fake voiceover that sounds like…